


They Meet

by fandomgurl77



Series: 21st Century AU [1]
Category: Downton Abbey, Dumbo (2019)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Modern AU, Wealth, Work, descendant, new neighbour, restaurant, what's happening?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:49:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23888482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomgurl77/pseuds/fandomgurl77
Summary: Gloria works as a waitress at a well-known restaurant and lives a normal life in an apartment complex. But when a wealthy young man comes to town, are things going to get better for her?
Relationships: Sotheby & OC
Series: 21st Century AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721731
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first in a spin-off series from my other work, Secrets; this series is a modern AU set in the present day.

‘See you all tomorrow!’ 22-year old Gloria said to her female colleagues outside the main doors of _The Appetiser Bar and Restaurant_.

‘Goodnight’, the other waitresses and bartenders said collectively before they parted ways.

_‘Ah, Sunday is here at last, along with its shorter working hours’_ , Gloria thought to herself on the bus-ride home, before her stop came.

‘Thank you again for dropping me off here’, she said to the driver, Steve Lowry, as she got off the bus.

‘No problem, Gloria’, Steve said before the doors closed, ‘See you again on Tuesday.’

‘Goodnight’, Gloria said before the bus drove away.

As Gloria turned down the street where she lived, she almost crashed into a finely-dressed man walking alone in the dark.

‘Whoa!’ she said, ‘Sorry sir, I didn’t see you there; hardly anyone walks down here at this time.’

‘Dah, it’s ok’, the man said with a smile, ‘By the way, I see that your nametag says that you are Gloria Dunston.’

‘Yes, you are correct’, Gloria said, ‘I’m a waitress at _The Appetiser_.

‘Ah, yes’, the man said, ‘I’ve been meaning to go there ever since it first opened five years ago.’

‘Good on you’, Gloria said, ‘We have an extensive range of food and drink options available throughout the day.’

‘Thanks for the information’, the man said, ‘I’ll try to be there tomorrow.’

‘Sounds great’, Gloria said, ‘By the way, what’s your name?’

‘My name is Sotheby; I’ve just moved in around the corner.’

‘Anyway, I better get going before the rain comes in’, Gloria said, ‘Goodnight, Sotheby.’

‘See you tomorrow, hopefully’, Sotheby said before they parted ways.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A customer leaves a monetary donation at The Appetiser and shocks the staff with an admission.

At 10:00 the next morning, Gloria walked over to Sotheby at a table near a window at _The Appetiser_.

‘So, Sotheby, I take it that you enjoyed morning tea today’, she said.

‘Yes, it was delightful, thank you’, Sotheby said, ‘Anyway, I best be off; I have stuff to do and people to see.’’Ok then’, Gloria said, ‘See you ‘round.’

‘Oh, I almost forgot, I spoke to the manager and left you guys a small surprise’, Sotheby said.

‘Thanks’, Gloria said, ‘I’ll be sure to ask about that later. Come again.’

‘Oh, I will’, Sotheby said before leaving via the front door just as the manager walked in.’

‘Oh, Mr. Biggs’, Gloria said, ‘I was wondering if you might have something for me?’

‘Yes, it’s for everyone’, Mr. Biggs said, Everyone, please gather around.’

In response, the rest of the staff stopped what they were doing and crowded around Mr. Biggs and Gloria.

‘What is it, Mr. Biggs?’ they all asked.

‘As you may or may not be aware’, Mr. Biggs replied, ‘We’ve had a very generous donation from one of our customers this morning.

‘A donation?’ everyone asked in shock since nothing of the sort had ever happened before, ‘How much?’

‘Well, this blew my socks off when I found out, and I’m sure you’ll all feel the same as well’, Mr. Biggs said, ‘This customer has donated a total of…£1,000,000 to be shared between everyone!’

‘What?’ everyone asked in amazement, ‘That’s amazing! We’ve got to thank this person.’

As if on cue, Sotheby came back in to retrieve his smartphone.

‘Sorry, I just left my phone on the table’, he said as he slipped by and picked it up.

‘And let me just say, thank you from me and everyone, Sotheby’, Mr. Biggs said.

‘Dah, it’s no problem’, Sotheby said, ‘There’s plenty more where those few pennies came from; my ancestors were aristocratic.’

 _‘What?’_ Gloria thought as everyone else audibly gasped.

‘Yes’, Sotheby said, ‘I’m one of two great-grandsons of Violet Crawley; the other being Robert Crawley.’

Mr. Biggs could not believe what he had just heard.

‘ _You’re_ a member of the Crawley family?’ he asked.

‘Yes’, Sotheby replied, ‘£1,000,000 means nothing to me.’

‘But…’ Gloria said, ‘You live in an apartment down the street from me.’

‘Ah’, Sotheby said, ‘Looks can be deceiving, my dear.’

‘Ohh?’ Gloria asked while blushing lightly, ‘In what way?’

‘You’ll see soon enough’, Sotheby replied, ‘You all will.’

It was then that Gloria had a good feeling about this.

 _'Yes, I bet we will...'_ she thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sotheby starts his new job.

At 8:35 the next morning, Sotheby shocked everyone at _The Appetiser_ by turning up for work.

‘Oh’, Gloria said, ‘Now I get what you said yesterday; so, you’ve been hired, then?’

‘Yes’, Sotheby said, ‘I’m a waiter now.’

‘Well then, let me be the first to say…welcome aboard!’

‘Thanks’, Sotheby said, ‘So, where do I start?’

‘Well, the place doesn’t open until 9:00 a.m, so we can cover a few basic things.’

‘Ok’, Sotheby said.

**At 8:59…**

‘I’m going to enjoy working here’, Sotheby said.

‘Agreed’, Gloria said just as the doors opened for the day, _‘I just know things will get better from here...’_


End file.
